How to Learn Castilian Spanish: A Plan for Spain Spanish

If you want Spanish for Spain, you soon run into the word “Castilian”. Courses use it, forums argue about it, and it can sound as if you have to choose a special, harder version of the language.

You don’t. Castilian Spanish is Spanish, with a set of habits that people in Spain share. This guide explains what the word means, how to check that what you’re using is Spain Spanish, and how to build those habits from your first week.

What is Castilian Spanish?

In English, “Castilian Spanish” usually just means Spanish as it is spoken in Spain. In Spain itself, castellano is mostly another name for the Spanish language.

The RAE’s Diccionario panhispánico de dudas says castellano and español are both valid names for the language. It adds that in Spain people also use castellano when they mean Spanish alongside the other official languages, such as Catalan, Galician or Basque. That is the sense in Spain’s Constitution, whose article 3 begins: “El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado.”

There is also a narrow meaning. The RAE’s dictionary lists castellano as the variety spoken in the northern part of the old kingdom of Castile. In that strict sense, the Spanish of Seville or Málaga isn’t “Castilian”, although it is certainly Spain Spanish.

On this page we use “Castilian” the way most English-speaking learners do: Spanish as it is spoken in Spain.

How do you learn Castilian Spanish?

The same way you learn any Spanish, with two differences: you choose material made for Spain, and you build a few Spain habits from the start rather than patching them in later. Here’s the whole plan in four steps.

1. Pick a course or book made for Spain. Use the five-minute test in the next section.
2. Learn four Spain habits early: vosotros, the th sound, the perfect tense for today, and Spain vocabulary.
3. Hear Spain every day, even for ten minutes: a programme, a radio show or a podcast made in Spain.
4. Say it out loud. Repeat, answer and talk to yourself in Spanish most days. Listening alone won’t make you speak.

Most of what you learn is shared with every other variety. Grammar, spelling and most everyday words work the same across the Spanish-speaking world. If you’d like the differences in detail, our Spain Spanish vs Latin American Spanish guide goes through each one.

How can you tell if a course teaches Castilian Spanish?

Look at the first few lessons, not the marketing. Five quick checks will tell you almost everything.

Some course makers do label a Spain version. At the time of writing, for example, Pimsleur and Mango Languages each have a page for a Castilian Spanish course. A label is a good start, but still run the checks, because the label alone doesn’t tell you how much Spain detail the lessons contain. If a course doesn’t say which variety it teaches, the checks will show you. Our article on whether Duolingo teaches Spain Spanish shows the kind of evidence to look for.

One reference point is worth knowing. The Instituto Cervantes, an official body created by the Spanish government to teach and promote Spanish, says in its Plan curricular that the language it describes for its reference levels is mainly the educated Spanish of north-central Spain, with notes where other varieties differ. That describes a reference document, not any particular book or class, so still run the checks above on whatever you choose.

Which Spain habits should you learn first?

Four habits make the biggest difference to sounding like Spain, and all four can start in your first weeks. Learn them early and they feel normal rather than like extra rules.

1. Vosotros for groups of friends

Vosotros is the informal “you” for more than one person. The RAE’s entry for vosotros says it is the form used for informal speech in most of Spain, but not in the Americas or in parts of southern Spain such as the Canary Islands and western Andalusia, where people use ustedes. Learn its verb forms alongside the others from the start: ¿Os apetece un café? (Do you fancy a coffee?), ¿Qué queréis? (What do you want?).

2. The th sound

In most of Spain, z, and c before e or i, sound like the “th” in “think”: gracias, cinco, zumo. The RAE’s entry for seseo explains that saying them like s is general in Latin America and in Spain is usual in the Canary Islands and part of Andalusia, and it is fully accepted. So both are correct. If you want to sound like most of Spain, practise the “th” from day one, before the s habit sets in.

3. The perfect tense for today

In most of Spain, things that happened earlier today usually go in the perfect tense, with he, has or ha: Hoy he trabajado desde casa (I worked from home today). The RAE’s Nueva gramática básica explains that the perfect covers events in a period that runs up to now. It also notes that north-western Spain and the Canary Islands often use the simple past instead, so you will hear both.

4. Spain vocabulary

Most everyday words are shared, but a handful of common ones differ, and you’ll use them constantly. The RAE’s dictionary marks ordenador as the word used in Spain for a computer, and móvil as mainly used in Spain for a mobile phone. When you learn a word that you know differs, learn the Spain one first and note the other.

What can wait

• Le for “him”. You’ll sometimes hear le vi instead of lo vi (I saw him). The RAE’s entry on leísmo accepts this when the object is a man or boy, and explains that it is strongest in central and north-western Castile and never took hold in Andalusian or Canarian Spanish. Lo vi is correct everywhere, so you only need to recognise le.
• Regional accents. Spain doesn’t have one accent. Learn one clear model first, then get used to others by listening.
• Slang. Pick it up from real speech as you go, and don’t use words you’ve only seen in lists.

Where can you hear Spanish from Spain?

Spain’s public broadcaster is the easiest free place to start. RTVE’s RTVE Play FAQ describes RTVE Play as its free platform for live channels and on-demand series, films, documentaries and news, with an optional free account and subtitles on programmes that have them. The same page says some content is restricted outside Spain because of broadcast rights, and lists RNE Audio as its app for Radio Nacional de España and its podcasts.

A few tips for using it as a learner:

• Choose programmes made in Spain. RTVE Play also carries international series, so check where a show is from.
• Use Spanish subtitles, not English, once you can follow a little. Turn them off for short stretches as you improve.
• Mix the regions. News from Madrid and a series set in Andalusia sound different. Both are Spain Spanish.

If you’d like classes, the Instituto Cervantes in London runs in-person and online Spanish courses, offers a free level test and organises the official DELE exams. For speaking with Spain’s sounds while you listen, our shadowing guide shows a simple method.

What does a week of Castilian Spanish practice look like?

About 20 minutes a day, some of it out loud, is a realistic routine. Here is one way to spread the four habits across a week.

None of this needs to be perfect. If you’re wondering how many months it all adds up to, our honest guide to how long it takes to learn Spanish looks at the published figures.

How do you practise speaking Castilian Spanish?

Out loud, little and often, with Spain’s forms from the start. Read your course dialogues aloud, answer the questions in them before you look, and talk yourself through ordinary tasks: Ahora voy a hacer la compra. Necesito leche y pan.

The hard part is answering in your own words, because most material only lets you repeat. That’s what we’re building Spanish Out Loud for. It isn’t out yet: it’s coming soon to iPhone, and with it you’ll practise speaking Spain Spanish out loud with Carlito, a friendly AI conversation partner from Málaga. He corrects you gently and explains words when you ask. You can see how it works on the homepage, and find more ideas in our speaking practice articles.

Is learning Castilian Spanish worth it?

If your Spanish life is in Spain, yes. Holidays, family, a partner or a move to the Costa del Sol all put you among people from Spain, and most of them use vosotros, say móvil and talk about today with he. Copying those habits from the start costs very little extra effort, and you’ll understand other varieties too, because the core is shared.

Start with a Spain course, add the four habits, hear Spain every day and keep speaking. For more ways to practise without a partner, see how to practise speaking Spanish on your own.